Kahr MK40 Range report

[ddj8052]

Today I got to take my Kahr MK40 to the range. First off let me say now that I will not include any acuaracy statments t this point. I had one of those days at the range which I could not hit the broad side of a barn. I know you all have them to . Anyways on to the fun stuff.

The fit and finish of this gun are far superior to that of my Glock 27 (which I sold to finance the Kahr). I ordered the gun with the optional night sights, which appear to be Meprolights (someone let me know if I am wrong). The gun is heavier than the Glock by quite a bit, but overall not as bad as I have read. I stuck the gun in my pocket in a cheap uncle mikes pocket holster and the gun disapears nicely. I reall did not care for the extended magazine. I think that the finger rest looks cheap. They should do something nicer for the extension. The weight did not bother me at all. now on to the range.

I shot about 150 rnds throught the gun. They were a mixture of Winchester 180gr SXT's, and Speer 180gr Golddot's. The gun only had one ftf on the second magazine through the gun. After that the gun ran perfect. Recoil was not to bad. It is a hand full. Recoil is deceptive as you have such a small grip. I had no problems shooting it, it just seemed harder than shooting my G27. The trigger will take some getting used to as I am used to shooting 1911's and Glocks. I do believe that the trigger will be greta once I get used to it. Over all the gun is really nice. I am very happy with this as a replacement for the 27. Hope this helps. Juan

 

[ddj8052]

Heres my Kahr with my Taurus 85ti.

 

[Gunmeister]

I've owned and operated Kahr products for years. I own four, a MK40, a PM9, a K40 and a K40 Covert. All are excellent guns with no probs. The trick to Kahrs is to keep them spotlessly clean and practice a lot.
The MK40 does require some practice for the owner to get accurate. If you were previously a Glock owner, it will take a little more getting used to. The Kahr trigger is far better than any stock Glock. What I have noticed is that Glock owners seem to jerk a Kahr trigger during the last portion of it's travel, I think they are looking for the traditional Glock "boing" when the hammer drops, there aint no "boing" in a Kahr trigger action it's smooth throughout it's travel. After taking all the necessary safety precautions, obviously, try dry firing your Kahr aiming at a small target and see if the sights are still lined up on your target after the hammer drops, bet it won't be. There is a tendancy for some folks to torque the gun slightly down and left just as the hammer drops, practice dry firing until you eliminate that slight torque roll. The Kahr trigger is smooth throughout it's entire travel and you should go to the range and practice sqeezing the trigger and not anticipating the recoil, which really isn't that bad. Once you get the hang of the trigger then concentrate on accuracy. Kahrs are great guns, I really love mine.

 

[twowheel]

I've been shooting a Glock 23 for a while and recently purchased a PM40. Since I also shoot revolvers in double action, switching between these two was not a problem. The kahr trigger is amazing.

However, I continued to have ftf problems with the Kahr with 4 different factory loads from Speer, winchester, fiocchi and federal. Those were all the brands I had on hand; I would have thought that one of them would have been reliable. Same ftf problems with both included mags. I seem to be the only person with this problem. Last week I sent the gun back to Kahr to see what they could do with it.

As far as handling, even with the very light weight polymer short grip the only difference between the Glock 23 and the PM40, for me, was that the PM40 had a bit more muzzle flip.

But, I can't wait to get that Kahr back. Even with the problems, I will like it once it's functioning properly.

 

[Russ]

I've had my MK40 since May of 2000 and have shot several thousand rounds through it. I have never had one malfunction. After 150 rounds at a time it sort of beats up the web of my hand but that's about it. I love this little gun. Good luck with yours.

 

[JNewell]

I have had a MK9 for years. I have come to treat it like the kitchen sink, feeding it every manner of high and low pressure load and all kinds of projectiles. I have to tell you honestly that never, not even during the first few hundred rounds, has it ever stuttered or paused or failed to make what it's eating go bang. For a while it was like playing stump the band. I've kind of given up. This Mk9 is a reliable as any handgun I've owned, and actually better than most in terms of reliability.

 

[Drundel]

I bought mine second hand and I put stronger Wolff recoil springs in it and man it sure made a difference. Great gun, I usaully wear it with a pocket DeSantis holster in cargo pants and it disaprears.

Thinking about getting a Don Hume clip on to try IWB. Anyone every tried that one?

 

[riddleofsteel]

My MK40 came with night sights. I have had it for about five years now and it is one of the "keepers" in my arsenal of defense. The previous advice of practice is right on. Find a practice ammo that is a good equal to your self defense round. I use 165 grain Remington GS for defense and 165 grain PMC FMJ for practice. The recoil impluse is about the same as well as point of impact. Once you master the Kahr you will find you can shoot it just as well as any of you "big" guns at any reasonable distance. Something your buddies may have a hard time getting used to seeing you do.

 

[Russ]

Riddleofsteel,

Do you think the night sights are worth it and if you had it to put them on yourself (or have them put on). Do you have an opinion on which sights you would you buy aftermarket?

I sitll have the regular 3 dot factory sights and have been wanting to upgrade. Kahr offers their version but I just wanted to know if you had the Kahr night sights or some other brand.

BTW, the wood grips are nice looking. I have been thinking about getting them.

Thanks,

Russ

 

[Gunmeister]

RUSS, I know you didn't ask me but FWIW, I have night sites on all four of my Kahrs. IMO they help a lot. Nothing takes the place of a strong flashlight at night but the nite sites are great in low light conditions and they really help finding the gun on the bed side table in the middle of the night.
As for installation, be prepared to do some metal work to get the sights to fit, especially in the tiny Kahr front sight dovetail. I have installed sights on two of my guns and believe me it is not easy. A table mounted belt sander with a very fine metal removing belt will help a lot. I did mine the hard way by rubbing the site base in a figure 8 pattern on good quality METALLITE 220 grit crocus cloth. You must be very patient and keep checking the base of the sight for fit into the dovetail, you can do it but it's rough, not impossible. Caution,The base of the front sight breaks very easily. Once you have removed enough metal to where the sight base starts into the dovetail, push the site in place with a sight pusher (installer), if you don't have a sight pusher, wrap a heavy rag around your slide and gently put the slide in a vise. Do Not over tighten the vise, coat the sight base and dovetail with a small amout of Loctite (Blue) and tap the sight gently in place with a light hammer using a piece of plastic stock as a drift punch. Caution, Do Not remove any metal from the front or rear slide dovetails, just remove metal from the sight bases.
I ordered my sights from Kahr, I installed Novac rears and Trijicon front sights. By the way, Kahr will send a disclaimer sheet with the sights letting you know that they will not be responsible, nor will they replace sights broken during installation. That should tell you something. If you want to send your slide to Kahr, they will install a set of sights for a fee, I don't know what they charge. Kahr uses MepProLite sites as OEM sights, they are good stuff, I just prefered the look of the Novac rear sight.
Good Luck, you can do it, just don't rush the job.

 

[ddj8052]

Russ, I really like the factory mepro's. I think that most guns are actually easier to shoot with night sights. personaly I woud send the gun to Kahr and have them install the sights, but that is just me. I really like my kahr.

 

[riddleofsteel]

Factory installs on the any sights for the Kahrs I have heard. I love mine on my MK40 and will replace them when they go dim. I find it comforting to find the little beast in the darkness of a tent while camping or on the night stand on a motel room peeking out from under a magazine.